A Conversation With Alberto Contador

In Pinto, Spain, where Contador greets his fans after each Tour victory. (James Startt)

Pinto, Spain (Bicycling.com) — As the train rolls south out of Madrid, the high-rises of the Spanish capital give way to the arid flatlands, La Mancha, made famous by Cervantes. Less than 20 kilometers from the city center, the train arrives in Pinto, a nondescript bedroom community. For centuries, it seems the only talking point about Pinto was that it's the official geographical center of Spain. But in recent years it’s been home to Alberto Contador, pro cycling’s most dominant stage racer and its most controversial rider.

Contador’s rivalry against Lance Armstrong, his teammate-turned-competitor in the 2009 Tour de France, was often trying on both riders’ nerves, and the animosity was well documented on social media and in the press. In the end, the Spaniard won the race but his image took its first big tarnishing. El Pistolero again came under fire for a counterattack move he made when Andy Schleck dropped his chain and had to hop off his bike to put it back on, in what is now known as the infamous Chaingate incident of the 2010 Tour. But nothing hurt Contador’s image as much as the positive test for clenbuterol announced a few weeks after the same Tour.

All along the 28-year-old has maintained his innocence, and he was cleared by his Spanish federation in February. But the final decision will come this fall after a three-day hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, scheduled to begin November 21. The court’s decision promises to be a defining one, not only for Alberto Contador but also for pro cycling.

This week, James Startt visited Contador in his hometown of Pinto, Spain, for this exclusive interview with Bicycling.

Bicycling: Alberto, since 2007 you’ve been the most dominant stage racer of your generation, winning three Tours de France, two Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain. But in recent years you have come under criticism, especially after traces of clenbuterol were found after the 2010 Tour de France. Yet as we have seen with Armstrong before you, great Tour champions come under constant scrutiny on and off the bike. Is there anything that could have prepared you for such criticism?

Alberto Contador: When I look back on my career, there have always been problems, things that were stressful. There was my brain aneurysm and crash in 2004, not to mention the long road to recovery after. Then there was the collapse of my first team, Liberty Seguros, after Operation Puerto in 2006. There was the exclusion from the Tour in 2008. There was the complicated relationship with Lance in 2009. So really I see my entire career as a sort of long stress test. In a way, the past nine years have prepared me for where I am at today.

Bicycling: Do you remember your first contact with the sport, when you first saw a bicycle race or became interested in cycling?

Contador: That was back when I was like 12 years old, watching Miguel Indurain winning the Tour de France on TV with my brother Fran. I think it was Miguel’s fourth victory. I wanted to do it, to cycle, but I just couldn’t. My family just didn’t have a lot money. They couldn’t buy us bikes. So, like every Spanish kid, I started out with football, then got into athletics, because there were no costs involved.

Bicycling: Do you remember your first bike?

Contador: Oh yes. It was a really old Orbea that barely worked. I mean, I actually had to use two hands to brake. But I was just happy to have a bike, and I remember drilling holes in the frame so that I could have internal cables. See I was already into performance!

Anyway, I just started riding and riding. I remember my butt hurting so much from the saddle that my mom took the shoulder pads out of one of her blouses and stitched them into my shorts. My first cycling shorts were homemade. And when it got cold, I took a pair of socks, cut off the toes, and used them for arm warmers.

Bicycling: When did you realize you had a talent for cycling?

Contador: My brother Fran was already riding some when I started, but in two months I was already stronger. Then, when I was 15, I joined my local club, the Uni Pinto (Cyclist Union of Pinto). Almost immediately they bumped me up to the next age category because I was stronger than everyone my age and getting bored. It’s funny to think back. Everybody then loved Indurain. He was the big Spanish hero. But me, my idols were Marco Pantani and Lance Armstrong. I just loved their attacking style. That’s what I wanted to do.

Bicycling: You’ve earned a reputation for being an aggressive rider, and you win races all year long. But where does that come from, the insatiable appetite to win? I mean, we’re sitting here in Pinto and it’s so tranquillo and you’re so mellow.

Contador: I’m not sure. It’s funny, I feel like I’m a different person when I’m here in Pinto than when I go to a bike race. As soon as I’m at a race, I’m thinking about winning. Competition is what motivates me to train. A lot of guys are focused on the Tour, and that’s fine. But me, I need to win all year long. And I really think it helps me when I finally get to the Tour, because, well, I have been practicing winning all year. I’ve been defending the lead in races all year long, and so has my team. And that is something that really helps when it comes to dealing with the pressure of defending the yellow jersey in the Tour.

(continued)

Bicycling: Were you always so competitive?

Contador: Oh yeah. It didn’t matter if I was playing soccer or PlayStation; I’ve always been really competitive. But there have also been a couple of important things that have happened in my life that marked me. First, although I don’t talk about it much, my youngest brother, Raul, was born handicapped with a severe case of cerebral palsy. My father had to stop working a long time ago to take care of him, and my entire family has been affected by his situation. We all had to be responsible for him.

And then, as you know, I had a brain aneurysm that caused me to crash in 2004, and it almost ended my career. Those sorts of things make you grow up quickly. I learned early that life wasn’t always fair and so, when you have talent, when you have opportunities, you have to seize them. My mother was always reminding us: “Look at the huge differences that occur just in one household,” she would say. “Your brother is like that, and you are one of the best in your sport. Don’t waste your chance.”

Bicycling: Armstrong has been a lot of things to you. As you said, he was one of your first idols, and your rivalry with him in 2009 has been well documented. What in the end did you take from your own Armstrong experience?

Contador: After everything, I certainly can’t deny that Lance has played a huge part in my life. I read his book It’s Not About the Bike not just once but twice. I read it for the first time when I was coming back from my accident, and it provided huge motivation, not just for returning to cycling but to returning to life. And then I read it again when I was thinking about winning my first Tour de France. For me, it remains an important book.

But then, yes, our relationship got complicated when he returned to the sport because, quite simply, we were two proven Tour winners who had the same objective—to win the Tour de France again. But my experience with Lance, as difficult as it was at times, remains an incredible one. Sure, it would’ve been better for us both if we had been on separate teams. But I don’t remember the negative stuff. And one thing’s clear: The whole situation made me mentally stronger.

Bicycling: Did you and Lance ever discuss how your accidents and diseases affected you as athletes?

Contador: No. And it’s interesting you ask, because it is something I wanted to discuss with him, but it just wasn’t possible. Lance always had a lot of people around him and it was just not possible to talk about such things.

Bicycling: And what about Johan Bruyneel? During the 2007 Tour, he announced that he had “found the next Lance Armstrong.” But when Lance returned, your relationship deteriorated with Bruyneel as well.

Contador: When I signed with him I did so because I definitely thought that Johan was the best director to help me attain my goal—that of winning the Tour de France. To be perfectly honest, I had several offers to ride for more money. But I wanted to win the Tour.

In the beginning we worked well together and I really, really had a lot of confidence in him—probably more than he had in me. I think Bruyneel saw my potential in the long term, you know, that maybe I could be a big champion in two or three years. But I wanted to be a big champion right away. I remember refusing to sign with another team and the director was surprised. But I told him, “You have made me a very good offer but you already have a Tour de France contender on your team, and I want to win the Tour. We would not be compatible.”

Bicycling: Really, you already knew that? Before you signed with Discovery Channel you had finished the Tour only once, in 2005. And you finished in 31st place.

Contador: Yeah, definitely. My objective was always to win the Tour.

Pinto's sports center, now named after Contador, where he played football and did athletics. (James Startt)

Bicycling: Between Bruyneel and Bjarne Riis, your current director at Saxo Bank, you have worked with two of the top Tour de France team directors. How are they similar? How are they different?

Contador: They both get total respect from all the riders. A lot of teams start to have troubles when riders don’t listen to their directors, but with Bjarne and Johan that is never an issue. And it's decisive in racing. Those guys don’t have to put pressure on riders, but the riders know that when those guys say something that there's no questioning it.

In terms of differences, that’s harder to answer. There are not big differences in directing styles. I would say that the biggest difference was simply the depth and strength of Bruyneel’s teams on U.S. Postal, Discovery Channel, and Astana. I mean, we got first and third in the 2007 Tour and again in the 2009 Tour. That’s amazing.

Bicycling: Next year Bruyneel will be working with Frank and Andy Schleck, two of your biggest rivals. What can he offer the Schlecks that they don’t already have?

Contador: Experience. Johan is the winningest Tour de France director in the history of the sport. That’s definitely going to make my life a little harder next year. But it also makes me more motivated.

(continued)Bicycling: Bruyneel has put together another super team for the Tour with the merger of RadioShack and Leopard. He has not only the Schleck brothers but also a ton of other great Tour riders. Are you worried about this? How is Saxo Bank going to stand up to teams like RadioShack and BMC? Are you getting the reinforcements necessary?

Contador: Yes, I’m a little worried about that, and I know that Bjarne is looking for reinforcements. But don’t forget, when it comes to the Tour de France, you don’t need 20 riders—you need only nine. Saxo Bank remains a strong team with lots of experience. We worked well together this year and that will only improve next year.

But the biggest difference is that next year Saxo Bank will be focused only on the Tour. And don’t forget, in cycling, you need not only a strong team but also a rider who can finish the job. I know how to finish the job. This year I may have lost the Tour, but I still have a pretty good average.

Bicycling: This year you lost your first grand tour since 2007. When did you realize it was over?

Contador: The Tour didn’t go well for me from the start. I crashed on the first day, and lost time again the next day. So I started with a handicap, and that forced me to attack a lot more throughout the race because I had to get time anywhere I could. But I really knew it was over the day we finished on the Galibier. My body just said “Stop!” That said, I finished the Tour with a lot of confidence because after the Galibier, I felt really good on the Alpe d’Huez and rode a strong final time trial.

Bicycling: So what was your attack on the Alpe d’Huez stage all about? Did you think maybe there was still a small chance to turn things around?

Contador: Just to have fun on the bike. At that point, the final result was meaningless. There is no difference for me between fifth or 10th place in the Tour de France. So I just wanted to go out and have fun. Don’t forget: At the end of it all we are actors and the Tour is our stage. So many times I have to calculate in a race according to my rivals. But this day was different. I didn’t have to calculate anything. I could just go out and race, go out and put on a show.

And you know, even though I lost the Tour this year, I wouldn’t trade in my season for anything because I really loved having the chance to win the Giro d’Italia again. I discovered the Giro in 2008, but as you may remember, I entered only at the last moment. So this year I really had the chance to go out prepare for it properly. I wanted to show the Italian fans what I could do when I was at my best.

Bicycling: In recent years your most consistent rival has been Andy Schleck. But last year your rivalry became tense after the infamous chain drop in the Pyrenees. Andy was critical of your counterattack, and fans really booed you. Tour greats such as Bernard Hinault totally supported you, but your image took a hit. Now, more than a year later, how do you view that moment?

Contador: It was an unfortunate circumstance in racing. But a lot of things happened in that race. I have never really talked about these things because I do not like to get into big polemics. But first there was the day of all of the crashes on Stage 2 into Spa. I came down the Stokeu climb in the second group, not the first. I had crashed too. And we were all chasing hard to catch up with the lead group with Fabian Cancellara. There were several of my teammates and at least four RadioShack riders. And I was the first team leader to call to neutralize the race. You can ask those around me. At that point we didn’t know what was happening up the road, but if we didn’t stop that would have been the end of the Tour for the Schlecks. The next day on the cobblestones was difficult, too. Frank Schleck crashed and broke his collarbone, and I got caught behind that crash. Andy was up ahead with Cancellara and they accelerated. Nobody waited then. So really, a lot of things happened in that Tour.

Bicycling: How much do you think you have taken from the sport, and what have you given?

Contador: Cycling has definitely given me a lot—a strong personality, maturity, popularity, and a more comfortable life for my family and me. What have I given? I hope to have given the image of someone who goes into every race and gives all he can, not just for big races but for all of the races. I think that people know that with me, Alberto Contador, there will be a big spectacle.

Bicycling: Armstrong used to say that the Tour de France was not a popularity contest. But today with Facebook and Twitter, the contact with the stars of the sport and the fans has gotten much closer. How important is it for you to be popular?

Contador: That’s true, and I enjoy using Facebook and Twitter during the races. That said, I don’t think anything can help your popularity as much as by putting on a good performance in the Tour.

Contador is confident the Court of Arbitration's verdict will clear his 2010 doping positive. (James Startt)

Bicycling: The case against your for the traces of clenbuterol revealed during the 2010 Tour has been in the public eye now for over a year. And in November the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the final authority in the matter, will hear your case and render a final judgment. You have maintained your innocence and have been frustrated by the process. Where do you think the anti-doping movement can improve?

Contador: There are so many things that frustrate me, and it is impossible to name one thing. But I do think that the list of banned substances needs to be updated because science is always evolving. There has been scientific proof from around the world that supports my position, that demonstrates the plausibility of clenbuterol traces entering the body through food contamination. But the anti-doping authorities continue to defend their position because my case has been such a public one.

Bicycling: The final decision by the court promises to be one of the biggest decisions not only for you and your career but for the sport. What happens if the final verdict is guilty and you are suspended from the sport for two years?

Contador: I can’t answer that because I’m so confident that the final verdict will clear me.

Bicycling: What would you have done if you were not a professional cyclist?

Contador: I’d have become something like a veterinarian because I’ve always loved animals, even today. I have German Weimaraner. His name’s Tour.

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